Over The Rhine's Ohio: A haunting musical journey

One of the things I like best about music is the ability of some songs to create an image of a place you've never been so strongly that you can close your eyes and feel like you're there. The title track from Over The Rhine's Ohio album is like that...The claustrophobic Rust Belt environment conjured by this little elegy is definitely one to which that "old "wouldn't want to live there..." expression applies but it is a nice place to visit at least in musical form.[lyrics](Words and Music: Bergquist)Hello OhioThe back roadsI know OhioLike the back of my handAlone OhioWhere the river bendsAnd it’s strange to see your story endIn my life I”ve seen a thousand dreamsThrough the threshers all torn to piecesAnd the land lay bareSomeone turned a profit thereAnd a good son lost his life in a strip pitWhen the sun went down we would all leave townAnd light our fires in Egypt BottomAnd the reservoir was just as good for Joni‘Cause we knew we wouldDream outloud in the night airHolly said, Don’t go inside the children’s homeMary said, Don’t leave your man aloneValerie was singin’ to the radioOhioIt was summertime in ‘83We were burnin’ out at the rubber treeWonderin’ what in the worldWould make all this worthwhileAnd if I knew then I was older thenWould I see regret to the last mileHello OhioThe back roadsI know OhioLike the back of my handAlone OhioWhere the river bendsAnd it’s strange to see your story endHow I hate to see your story endIt’s so sad to see your story endKarin Bergquist: Vocals and Piano